My Letter to Congress: H.R.822 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011

It is my opinion that States that do not recognize every other State's Concealed Weapons Permits are in violation of Article IV, Section 1 of the US Constitution and in so doing are also violating the right of the people under Amendment II of the US Constitution to “keep and bear arms”. The Federal Government has an obligation under Article IV, Section 1, and Amendment XIV, Section 5, of the US Constitution to enforce the interstate recognition of Concealed Weapons Permits. H.R. 822 is intended to correct those States non-compliance with the US Constitution. Failure to enforce that interstate recognition of Concealed Weapons Permits is a failure of our elected representatives to fulfill their obligations under their Oath (or Affirmation) of Office taken in accordance with Article VI of the US Constitution.

Senator Udall, this is now my third letter to you regarding H.R. 822 and I have not received even an acknowledgement of those letters. I will certainly remember your responsiveness when you come up for re-election in 2014 as well as your rating of F on Amendment 2 issues from the Gun Owners of America. I have written you before on my support of H.R. 822, which passed the House of Representative on November 16, 2011 by a vote of 272 - 154. On November 17, 2011, H.R. 822 was then referred to the Senate, where it was received, read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. As of this date, February 29, 2012, there are no hearings or actions scheduled for H.R. 822, even though it passed the House with a significant bi-partisan majority and deals with an issue regarding the failure of States to adhere to the US Constitution and as a result, deny US Citizens their Constitutional Rights. It appears to me, given the membership of this Committee and the past history of the majority of members of the Democratic party, that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is sitting on this Bill with the intention of never allowing a vote on H.R. 822. This is not what we elected our Senators to do!Below are the members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary with their rating from the Gun Owners of America on their support of Amendment II issues.

Committee Members [Gun Owners of America Rating]
Patrick J. Leahy [F]
Chairman, D-Vermont

Herb Kohl [F]
D-Wisconsin

Chuck Grassley [A-]
Ranking Member, R-Iowa

Dianne Feinstein [F-]
D-California

Orrin G. Hatch [C]
R-Utah

Chuck Schumer [F-]
D-New York

Jon Kyl [A-]
R-Arizona

Dick Durbin [F-]
D-Illinois

Jeff Sessions [A-]
R-Alabama

Sheldon Whitehouse [F-]
D-Rhode Island

Lindsey Graham [B-]
R-South Carolina

Amy Klobuchar [F]
D-Minnesota

John Cornyn [A]
R-Texas

Al Franken [F]
D-Minnesota

Michael S. Lee [A]
R-Utah

Christopher A. Coons [D]
D-Delaware

Tom Coburn [A+]
R-Oklahoma

Richard Blumenthal [F-]
D-Connecticut

I, for one, will no longer tolerate the practice of burying legislation so that our elected representatives do not have to cast votes which then become a matter of public record. Given that this practice has continued far too long and has now become the normal, I will now consider every instance of a non-vote as a NO vote in my consideration of voting history for future elections. We, the people, deserve to have all issues voted upon so that we can see if our elected representatives are, in fact, representing their constituents and the US Constitution rather than some party position that, in this case, is indefensible and contrary to both law and fact. As one of your constituents, I expect the Senate Democratic caucus to do everything to have H.R. 822 moved from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and brought to the Senate floor, without amendment, for a vote. Failing that, any one Senator may circumvent any Senate committee through the Senate's Amendment procedures whereby the entire text of a Bill can be added as an amendment to another Senate Bill. Given these options available to each and every Senator, I will further consider a non-vote as a NO vote even if a Bill never comes to the floor for a vote. I will no longer allow my elected representatives to hide behind procedural gimmicks in order to obscure their performance and their true intentions.

Sincerely,
Robert W. Sixberry